ADS-Mode S
Summary
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has defined a concept for communications, navigation, and surveillance for the next century known as the Future Air Navigation System (FANS). A cornerstone, of the FANS is an increasing reliance on satellite-based position-determining systems such as the Global Positioning System (GPS). In the case of, surveillance, aircraft position information is automatically downlinked to ground controllers. This technique is known as Automatic Dependent Surveillance (ADS). ADS-Mode S is an ADS system concept utilizing the frequencies and formats of the Mode S system for downlinking position information and also uplinking differential GPS (DGPS) corrections. The result is an integrated concept for surveillance that permits aircraft equipped with a Mode S transponder and a GPS receiver to participate in both ADS and beacon ground environments. This makes possible a smooth transition of the National Airspace System (NAS) secondary surveillance system from a beacon-based to an ADS-based environment. In addition, several other benefits from ADS-Mode S accrue to the Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) and to the Mode S Data Link system.